


The Name of the Game

by malecyday



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Attempt at Humor, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hotel Island AU, M/M, Mamma Mia inspired, Miscommunication, Model Magnus, because it's malec, because who doesn't love that movie?, handy man Alec, interruptions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-17 22:32:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10603641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecyday/pseuds/malecyday
Summary: "You make me talk, and you make me feel, and you make me show what I'm trying to conceal. If I trust in you, would you let me down? Would you laugh at me, if I said I care for you? Could you feel the same way too? I wanna know the name of the game." -ABBAIn order to get from the stressful, crowded atmosphere of New York, Alec decides to go on a little vacation to Idris Island Hotel. His idea of a vacation, of course, involves working. He goes there to work as a handyman with hopes of finding inspiration and clearing his head from his writer's block.The couple who owns the island, Luke and Jocelyn, want more publicity for their beautiful island hotel, and so Jocelyn contacts an old friend and camera man, Ragnor Fell, and his crew of models to help promote. Magnus expects it to be just another job. Alec doesn't think he'll get involved at all.They're both wrong.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, this has been a passion project of mine for the past few weeks that I hope people enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing because, once I had this idea, more ideas kept coming and this monster came out. I'm thinking 3-4 chapters!  
> Title (and words in the summary) is from an ABBA song because this fic is loosely inspired by Mamma Mia (basically just the title and the fact that it's on a hotel island). If you haven't seen the movie, do. It's great.  
> Enjoy!

“ALEC!” The shrill, familiar voice resonates through the small hotel lobby, having no trouble piercing through Alec’s earphones and making him jump. Which is not ideal for his current position, screwing in a new lightbulb on top of a ladder. He topples with a crash off of the small ladder, landing on his feet but at the expense of a smashed light bulb. He sighs but can’t help but smile at the sight that greets him once he turns towards the voice.

His siblings, Izzy and Jace stand at the entrance to the island hotel’s small lobby building, sunlight pouring in behind them. Their discarded suitcases sit next to them as they jump up and down together. Izzy more so than Jace.

Of course, he had been expecting them since he had gotten this little summer job working as a handyman in Idris Island Hotel, but he wasn’t expecting them so soon. It felt like ages since he last saw them when in reality it has probably been a month since he left his job in New York for this job abroad. Still, complete isolation from anyone familiar on some European island could really make you miss someone.

He momentarily forgets about the broken bulb and speed walks across the lobby to his family, a smile spreading ear-to-ear as he draws closer.

“Izzy! Jace!” he exclaims, drawing them both into a bear hug. Izzy laughs and hugs him close, Jace murmuring something like ‘not in public, man’. He pulls back and grabs their bags, leading them to the check in counter - well, it's more of a drawer full of keys than an actual counter. Quaint, though.

“How did you get here?" he asks, grabbing two numbered keys and turning back to them. "I thought you guys were pretty busy and were coming later in the summer."

Jace shrugs and runs a hand through his blond hair. “The semester ended a few days ago, we wanted this to be a surprise," he says.

"We tried to bring Max too," Izzy interjects, offering an apologetic smile, "But mom and dad said they were taking him to the Caribean with them for the summer."

Alec shakes his head a little. "Sounds like them," he mutters under his breath. Since Alec became an independent adult who decided not to follow in his parent's footsteps and instead became a writer, his parents had become less...trusting of him. This, unfortunately, included him looking after Max. Coming out as gay probably didn't help, either.

"But, God," Jace says after a moment of silence, sensing the more tense atmosphere. "That was one hell of a boat ride. I’m pretty sure some Spanish dude was trying to sell me weed, Alec.”

Izzy rolls her eyes, “ _Dios,_ he wasn’t selling you weed, he wanted to know where we were headed. Didn’t you take Spanish in high school?” Jace scoffs in answer and Izzy gets the message. She rolls her eyes yet again then smiles at Alec. “We wanted to see how you’re doing. How’s the block going?”

“Well,” Alec starts, leading them out of the lobby building to the warm, humid air of the luscious island. “I haven’t had much time to work on the book itself, but this place is definitely helping with inspiration. I mean, look at it.” He gestures around with a smile.

The moment Alec stepped onto the island a few weeks ago, his mind set on distraction, he knew this island would help with the writer’s block he couldn’t get over stuck in the crowded city of New York, and it felt like it already has in many ways. The island is small, holding a little town with one school and this hotel, miles of beach surrounding all of it, and flowers and plants that you just wouldn’t see back home. The white walls of the hotel's various buildings contrast beautifully with the gorgeous strong and natural colours surrounding them, like the deep blue sky above, the pink and purple and red flowers wherever in pots lining the streets, and the radiant green vines snaking along the occasional wall. No, there’s nothing like this back home.

Izzy and Jace look just as entranced, smiling brightly as the sun beats down on them. Alec can hardly wait to show them more.

“Besides,” he continues. “I needed a break from everything anyway, as you guys kept reminding me back home. And this is perfect.”

They continue down the cobblestone path to a building marked with a blue sun above the door. Alec stops to unlock it as his siblings continue to question him.

“It really is. And how’s your job? Is it hard work? How’s your boss?” Izzy asks, making Alec smile fondly. She has always been the concerned mother of their little sibling-family. It's welcome and refreshing, reminding Alec of just how much he had missed the two of them over the past few weeks.

“Jocelyn and Luke are great. I’m glad they reached out to me for this job. Well, actually, their daughter did, but they approved and are nice too.”

“Daughter?” Jace asks mischievously. “So this island isn’t full of retired elderly! What age are we talking about here?”

Alec rolls his eyes as he finally unlocks the (rather old) door and leads them up a staircase to their rooms. “It doesn’t matter because she’s my boss’ daughter, Jace. Besides, she’s not your type. An actual good human being.”

He hears Jace gasp behind him and can only imagine that he’s holding a hand to his heart dramatically. “Hey! I - take offence,” he finishes lamely. Alec turns around to hand them both of their keys in time to see Izzy roll her eyes at their brother. She directs her attention back to Alec, a flash in her eyes Alec knows all too well.

“Any hot guys?”

“For me or for you?” He quirks a brow.

“You know me too well. I was thinking more for you, big brother,” she says with a smirk. Alec gives a pained sigh. With concerned Izzy also comes wing-woman Izzy, one Alec likes significantly less.

“Nope, mostly old people or touristy couples.” At that, her face falls, looking like everything she had planned on doing on this island revolved around getting Alec laid. He sighs. “Although…” he says and trails off, allowing her eyes to shine hopefully.

“Yes?” she asks.

“There are a small group of models coming for a week or two of promotional photo shoots for the island tomorrow. Jocelyn and her husband Luke would like for it to be a bit more lively on the island they got married and created a hotel on.”

Izzy screeches. “Models?! Oh my God, Alec, do you know what this _means_?”

Alec slides past them back towards the stairs. He knows what she’s about to say and doesn’t really want to stick around for it.

“I know what you think it means and I assure you you’re wrong. I'm here to work. Nothing else. Now both of you, settle in, then come back to the lobby you found me in in about an hour and we’ll go get some dinner.” With that, he’s down the stairs and out the door.

As he’s walking away, one of the upstairs windows opens wide and out pops Izzy, flailing her arms out as she shouts:

“YOU’RE GONNA GET SOME MALE MODEL ASS!”

* * *

 Alec finishes cleaning up the lightbulb mess and installing a new one rather quickly, and is about to make his way to his room but is interrupted by a flash of red hair.

“Alec!” Clary says excitedly, green eyes gleaming, a pencil balanced behind her ear and her sketchpad shoved under her arm.

He and Clary had become friends unavoidably. With her being the only other person close to his age that wasn’t a tourist trying to flirt with him, he was kind of stuck with her. Well, her and Simon kind of came as a package deal, but he lives on the other side of the island with his mother in the town.

It had started with a lot of one-sided talking on Clary’s part since Alec found her sort of annoying at first, but once she asked about back home in New York, being completely fascinated with anywhere off this island, he slipped some information out. The thing they had really bonded over was art. Not that Alec is much of an artist - unless writing were to be considered an art - but he had told her about how his little brother, Max, loved sketching superheroes and stuff, and so she had started drawing some things for Alec to bring back with him for Max. It was a nice gesture and Alec had deemed her acquaintance-worthy since.

“I drew a bit more for Max,” she says, whipping out her sketchpad and flicking through the pages. “I also drew some of the island when I went hiking earlier if you want to see that too.”

Alec nods. He likes seeing her drawings, they're good. Really good. But he thinks of his siblings and shakes his head. “Sure but I’m kind of busy right now. My siblings just arrived.”

“Oh!” Clary says with a bright smile. “That’s great! All of them?”

“No, not Max, but Izzy and Jace got here about a half hour ago.”

“Well, that’s great! I’ll let you get back to them, then.” With that, she gives a small wave and turns on her heels. In a split-second decision, Alec shouts after her.

“We’re having dinner if you want to join us?”

Alec knows he is pretty much all Clary has on this island in regards to friends this summer and that must suck with him being quiet and grumpy all the time and Simon being the hotel’s driver, having to constantly be on the move. Alec may as well introduce her to his siblings so she isn’t bored for however long they stay. Maybe she and Izzy will hit it off. He might have to keep an eye on Jace.

Clary turns and smiles brightly, almost like she expects him to take it back. “I’d love to! Thanks, Alec. I’ll show you my drawings there. The usual place?”

Alec nods, the hint of a fond smile showing. “The usual place.”

She nods again then is off in a red flash, leaving Alec to walk back to his hotel room alone. He sighs as he thinks about his schedule for tomorrow, everything he has to fix and everything that will probably need fixing soon on this beautiful yet somehow destructive island. He is good with his hands, though, so he can handle whatever is thrown his way here, he just likes having a set schedule.

He gets to his room, showers, gets dressed into less sweaty clothes, and then he’s back at the lobby waiting impatiently for a somehow late Izzy and Jace.

When they do eventually come running in, it’s not alone.

“Ah, Alec!” Luke says warmly from beside Jace. “You didn’t tell us you’re siblings were coming!”

“They just got here,” he tells his bosses. “We were actually about to go get some dinner if you would like to join us. Clary’s coming too.”

Jocelyn shakes her head. “No, we’ll let you guys catch up. Besides, there’s still a bit to be done before those models get here.”

Luke makes sure his wife isn’t looking as he shakes his head and mouths ‘there isn’t’ to the three siblings, who laugh softly.

“Let me know if anything needs to be fixed before they get here!” Alec shouts after them as the couple walk away. Izzy turns towards her brother.

“I like your bosses, Alec,” she smiles, grabbing him and Jace by the arms and leading them back outside.

“Yeah, they’re good people,” he smiles. “Now, let go of me so I can lead you to our destination. I’m starving.”

* * *

 “The Hunter’s Moon?” Izzy reads on the front door. “Sounds sketchy.”

“Well it’s amazing, and you can actually get American food here. I’m pretty sure Luke created it because he really missed having traditional burgers,” Alec tells them.

“They aren’t from here?” Jace asks.

“No, they met in New York. They got married here and bought it afterwards, though.”

Izzy and Jace nod as they all step into the cosy restaurant. Quaint little fairy lights dot the brick walls of the large room that extends all the way to where the glass doors of the back wall are opened wide to let the cool evening breeze in. Some tourists are seated outside, sipping coffee and speaking their native tongues rapidly in hushed tones, a laugh resounding every now and then as Alec, Jace, and Izzy wait at a small counter for a waiter to attend to them.

“Hello,” a voice comes from around a corner to greet them. Out steps a girl with long, what Izzy would call ‘platinum blond’ hair and dark, unblemished skin; a certain air of confidence about her presence. She has an American accent and her name tag reads ‘Gretel’.

“Hey, Gretel,” Alec greets with a smile. “Can we get a table for four?”

“Of course,” the girl smiles, taking four menus out from under the counter and walking further into the room. “Follow me.”

“So when is this Clary girl coming?” Jace asks as he sits down across from Izzy and Alec on a rickety wooden chair.

“Jace, I’m warning you -”

“Is that her?” Izzy interrupts, pointing at the redhead entering through the door. Alec nods as Clary makes her way over slowly, taking in the scene with a smile.

“Hi, you must be Izzy and Jace,” she greets, extending a hand out to both of them. Alec is especially impressed when she completely looks over Jace’s confident, flirtatious smile to address Izzy. Looks like he won't have to warn Jace at all. “Alec has told me so much about you guys. And Max.”

“Did he? Only good things I hope,” Izzy smiles, elbowing Alec playfully.

“Mostly,” she chuckles. “He never says anything about himself so you guys take up most of our short conversations.”

“Sound like Alec,” Izzy laughs, then gestures for her to sit down across from her.

As the night progresses, Alec is surprised about how well Clary gets along with Izzy, the two being different in many ways, and how good she is at kindly turning down all of Jace’s flirtatious comments and, around the time she starts showing her drawings and talking about each one as they eat, Alec starts noticing Jace’s switch in demeanor, actually becoming interested in what she says. _Good,_ Alec thinks, _he’s realising she’s not just some airhead._

They talk as a group and Alec finds himself learning way more about her than he had during any of their conversations. He knew she moved here from New York with Jocelyn after she married Luke when she was pretty young, but he didn't know that she hadn't been off of the island since, or that she hadn't gone to college for art like she wanted to and instead plans on helping around on the island. Jace looks at her in a particularly affectionate way after that's revealed.

“Sorry,” Clary says when her phone starts ringing, interrupting their conversation about things to do around the island for people under the age of 70. She stands up. “It’s my mom. I should take this. Be right back.” With that, she’s gone, leaving Izzy grinning at Jace.

“What?” he snaps impatiently.

“Nothing,” Izzy drawls, her teasing tone evident. “You’re just so obvious about it.”

“About what?” Jace hisses at her. He looks like he’s about to punch her when Alec places a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, man, it’s pretty obvious.”

For the first time in a long time, Alec sees the ever-confident Jace blush. Angrily. “I will murder-”

Clary chooses then to speed-walk back to the table. She stops beside Alec’s chair and gives him an apologetic look. “Alec, my mom just called and told me that the models arrived early. She’s freaking out because she was supposed to collect them tomorrow morning and so she wasn’t there so they took a taxi and it broke down on the way here from the docs. Thankfully, it was Simon driving, so he called her and she was wondering if you would mind driving down since she and Luke are on their walk and can't get to their car for at least another hour-”

“Alright, calm down,” Alec interrupts with a nod, noting her panicked state. He gets up, quickly making his way to the door, and waves their way. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Can I come with you?” Izzy asks with an excited spark in her eyes. Alec scoffs and firmly shakes his head.

“No, no models for you today. You can bother them all you want tomorrow, Iz.” Her pout becomes more prominent but she doesn’t say another word, letting Alec walk out the door alone.

Time to save some models.

* * *

Magnus grunts, banging the front of the car in frustration. Why did he agree to come to this god-forsaken island? It is undeniably beautiful, but he has been to nicer places farther away from home for less. Why was he such a good person? Saying yes to his friend-slash-photographer, Ragnor, in order to help one of his oldest friends out. Now he and three of his model friends are stuck in the middle of some island’s dirt road with a talkative nerd-boy to accompany them.

He is with his friends, but Raphael and Ragnor start to get cranky when there isn’t a schedule they are sticking to and Magnus doesn't wish to face that right now.

 _Hell,_ he thinks, _they’re always cranky._

“Dios, have you got the car started yet, Bane? We have somewhere to be!” Raphael’s purely angelic voice comes from the passenger side window. Magnus wipes the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his designer shirt (and curses himself. What if this ancient island doesn’t have washing machines?) and glares at his friend.

“Do you hear that, Raph? It’s the sound of the engine  _still not working._ So, no, it hasn’t started yet.”

Catarina snorts then looks his way from where she is leaning against the side of the car. “For all that you go on about the talent of those hands of yours, they sure are useless in important situations.”

Magnus raises a brow. “I assure you, what I can do with my hands is _very_ important in many situations.” Catarina chuckles with a shake of her head. “And, would you like to try to fix this heap of junk?”

“Hey!” The cab driver's voice comes from where he lies in the grass, throwing a small ball up and down in the air. Magnus rolls his eyes, unsure of what his name even is. Sherwin, maybe?

“Are you going to help us out or what?”

“Nah, Alec will probably be here soon anyway. He’ll fix this or give us a ride and come fix it later. Don’t sweat it.”

“It’s hard not to,” Maia says, fanning herself with her ‘Idris Island’s History’ pamphlet.

Magnus grunts and leans against the car next to Cat, leaning back to look at the darkening sky above. He hopes that whoever this Alec guy shows up soon. Despite the fact that the sun is setting and the moon is visible in the reddening sky, the heat is no less intense than when the sun was high when they had arrived on shore about a half hour earlier. He just wants to get to the hotel, take a shower, and go to sleep. If this is some sort of omen as to how this entire trip is going to go, he already wants to go home.

“Ah! There he is!” Sydney’s voice sounds as a pair of headlights come into view ahead of them. Magnus lets out a sigh of relief that turns into a curious stare as he sees the man that steps out of the car.

Magnus had been expecting an old, fat guy, maybe with a beard or something. Y’know, like those mechanics in the movies or the mechanics back home, all over New York City. Not the tall, dark, and handsome man that makes his way over with a look of concern on his angelic, pale face. He wears a short-sleeved black tee-shirt that shows off his deliciously toned muscles, a grey short-sleeved jacket, and some black pants that don’t do too badly for his ass. Yep, he would definitely take a ride from him. He’s so distracted by that delicious thought that he almost doesn’t realise when the man starts talking to Seamus.

“Hey, Simon,” sexy says, stopping in front of where his friend sits in the grass. “Did it really break down again?”

Magnus sighs at how lovely and gravelly the man’s voice is. He wonders how that voice would sound in different circumstances. Cat elbowing him in the ribs takes his mind off of that thought, though.

“Ow!”

“Mags, are you seriously drooling over the first piece of foreign meat you laid your eyes on?”

“He’s so pretty,” Magnus pouts. “Besides, I didn’t have any interest in Steven over there.”

“Whatever,” Catarina shrugs with a roll of her blue eyes. “At least let him fix our car first before you spring on him.”

Magnus just pouts again, looking back over to the pair of strangers.

Meanwhile, the handyman walks back over towards the car, waving a hand over his shoulder at Simon's: “Thanks, Alec.

Alec makes his way over to the front of the car, stopping rather abruptly when he catches sight of the two standing beside it. Or, more accurately, when he catches sight of Magnus. Magnus can't help but grin at the way the man’s hazel eyes rake over his body, stopping at his exposed chest. He blesses whatever gods there could be for wearing his favourite, blue plunge-line shirt today. The eyes finally come to rest on his face and Magnus winks, making the man’s lips quirk into a half-smile. Magnus’ head spins. He also notes that his grey jacket - which is probably work related - reads ‘Alexander’. Interesting.

Catarina lets out a cough. Magnus wants to slap her in that instant when Alec looks over at her. But he's too distracted by the deep blush that spreads over gorgeous’ face.

“I assume you're here to fix the car,” Cat says with a raised brow. Alec rubs the back of his neck with his hand and shuffles closer to the front of the car.

“Oh-uh, yes. I'm Alec. The handyman at the hotel. Simon told me one of you already took a look so I wanted to know what you might think the problem is.”

“Mhm,” Cat murmurs but gestures to Magnus. “Well, he's the one you should be asking.”

Magnus smiles slyly, stepping forward from his spot against the car to walk over to Alec, who again, looks him up and down not so subtly.

“Hi. I'm Magnus,” he purrs, holding a ring-clad hand out to the blushing man. He barely holds back a grin when Alec takes his hand, a lopsided smile on his face, and doesn't let go until Ragnor interrupts them with a grunt.

“Magnus, for goodness sakes, can you tell him what's wrong with the car so we can get to our bloody hotel?” The grumpy Englishman slumps down next to where Catarina is now sitting on the ground with a frown on his face, watching Magnus expectantly. Magnus chuckles but withdraws, leading Alec to the popped hood of the car.

“Well, I took a look at the engine and I'm pretty sure it's overheated. I'm not sure how to fix it, though.” He crosses his arms and shuffles closer to the taller man. “I'm sure those hands of yours can work wonders, though.”

Alec hums in response, seeming to have composed himself into work-mode as he expertly ignores Magnus’ flirting and crosses his arms, focusing on working out what to do, although the tint of red on his cheeks betrays his coolness. That's okay. Magnus likes a challenge.

After a few moments of silence, he turns back towards Simon and throws his keys to him, Simon flailing a bit before catching them.

“Simon, take my car and drive them to the hotel. The fixing process for an overheated engine takes a while and I'm sure the guests want to get there as soon as possible. I'll drive your car back up once I'm finished.”

As Simon nods obediently and stands up, gesturing for everyone to follow, Magnus sighs. Although he would love to get to the comfort of the hotel, he's also sure he would love to watch Alec work on the car for however long it takes. He's about to voice the idea when Raphael passes by and grabs one of his arms, dragging him towards the other car.

“No, you're not staying to watch,  _idiota_.”

* * *

When Alec finally gets back later that night, he feels sweaty and gross and just wants to take a shower. Of course, Izzy is waiting outside his front door, tapping away on her phone. He sighs.

“Alec!” Izzy exclaims once she spots him coming closer. “How were the models? Did they repay you for all your hard work?” She says with a wiggle of her eyebrows, and Alec is sure he doesn't want to know what she means.

“They got here fine. Now please let me take a shower, I-”

“Oh, Alec!” They hear from behind them. They turn to see Jocelyn jogging up to them with a smile on her face. “Thank you so much for helping with the guests earlier, you really saved my life. If you're not too busy I meant to ask…”

Alec barely suppresses a sigh. “Yes?”

“They're doing their first shoot early tomorrow morning in the main courtyard and one of the statues there fell from its pillar. If you could fix that, I would be eternally grateful.”

Alec lets out a short laugh, “You always say that.”

“Well, eternity is a long time!” she yells back at him as she walks off towards the main lobby building. Alec rolls his eyes fondly and looks back at Izzy with a shrug.

“See you tomorrow, Iz. You should get some sleep.”

Izzy steps forward to hug him goodnight. “They've really got you on your toes here,” she notes. “Must be very different to what you're used to.”

Alec shrugs. “I suppose. Honestly, it's a welcome change from basically being my own boss. Less stressful.”

Since Alec had gotten out of college with a diploma in English Literature, he had started writing for a living. He loves the freedom he usually gets when escaping into his own mind, but after one of his books really blew up with positive attention, the stress had piled up, leading him into pressuring himself to come up with more and more ideas. He had needed a break from himself, and while he is still doing some writing during his free-time here, he is mostly trying to gain back that sense of inspiration.

“Well, have fun! Goodnight!” Izzy says and waves, leaving him to his job. Alec quickly gathers some tools from his room, then makes his way to the courtyard, humming quietly under his breath.

He arrives, gets to work, but doesn't get far with his ministrations before a voice interrupts. He seems to be cursed with interruptions today.

“Oh, my saviour Alexander!” A vaguely familiar voice calls out from above. When Alec pauses to look around, the voice continues. “No, please, do continue.”

Alec places the voice, looking straight up to where the gorgeous, glittery man from before - Magnus - stands with a wineglass in hand, leaning forward against the balcony's stone wall.

He wears a flirty grin, and Alec can't deny it's doing its job if his speechless state is anything to go by. That smile and the fact that he is shirtless is enough to get Alec severely flustered.

“Not much of a talker?” Magnus winks after a beat. “Well, thank you for saving us earlier. I’m not sure how long I could have lasted out there with dear, chatty Silas.”

Alec smiles slightly, crossing his arms up at the man. “You mean Simon? Yeah, he’s a talkative one.”

“Don’t I know it,” Magnus sighs, leaning forward more on the balcony wall. “He kept going on about some Star Wars movie trailer that came out recently and, before the car broke down, I was pretty sure my friend Raphael was going to rip his head off.”

Alec laughs loudly with a nod. _Yep, that’s Simon,_ he thinks to himself. When he looks up at Magnus again, he revels in the magnificent way Magnus’ smile seems to radiate. And it's brilliance is focused on him. He lets out a short cough to clear his head.  “And, uh, you’re welcome. For the car thing.”

Magnus’ smile turns to a grin. “You know, I would invite you up for a proper thank you but my annoying friends are here. Maybe next time.”

Alec scoffs in disbelief, raising an eyebrow as he watches Magnus’ grin grow. The glittery man raises his hands in defence. “Just a suggestion. I mean, you've seen me shirtless, I thought you might want to return the favour.”

“That wouldn’t be much of a thank you on your part, would it?” Alec grins. Magnus laughs and Alec wants to hear it again. The model opens his mouth and is about to answer when a voice calls out.

“Magnus,” the female voice says. “Stop flirting with everyone on the island and come have a drink with your friends!”

Magnus gasps dramatically, turning towards his room with a hand on his chest. “I have a drink here. And an _amazing_ view!”

Alec is glad he isn't facing him, his face is flushing shades of red he didn't think were possible as he watches Magnus go back into his room. He hopes that will be the end of it, even going as far as to think about getting back to work, but in the next moment; the girl model from before pops out onto the balcony with Magnus close behind.

“Oh hey Alec,” she says happily, obviously a little drunk. “I understand what Magnus means now!”

“Er, hi,” he says with an awkward wave and a nervous laugh. “Uh…”

“Catarina,” she offers kindly. “Now, I’m sure you’re lovely, Alec, but I’m going to need to drag Magnus here inside to have a little friend-to-friend talk about when and when not to flirt with strangers. Say goodnight, Magnus.”

Alec watches with a small smile as Magnus pouts, waving once more down at Alec with a 'goodnight' before going back inside, arm-in-arm with Catarina.

As Alec turns back to the broken statue, he thinks that maybe his time here would be more interesting than he first thought.

* * *

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!”

Magnus hisses at the sudden stream of light that hits his eyes, turning to bury his face in the soft bed covers. It isn’t long before a pair of hands are snatching the covers away and shaking his corpse-like body back to life. Magnus squints an eye open to see Ragnor towering over him, arms crossed with a deep set frown on his stupidly awake face.

“Early shoot today. Did I not mention that last night?” he says.

Magnus grunts.

“I suppose not. Well, pop on some clothes, scarf down some breakfast, then head to the courtyard right outside this building. Got it?”

Magnus groans again. “I hate you.” Ragnor doesn’t say anything, standing menacingly over Magnus until he finally nods sleepily, pulling the covers back over his eyes with a huff. “Fine, dad.”

Ragnor scoffs and turns on his heels, leaving with a “You have an hour!” and then a murmur Magnus hears as ‘bloody idiot’.

Magnus groans yet again, peeking out from the covers to look out the window, which is a big mistake because the sunshine hits him directly in the eyes and he finds himself cursing time zones and the sun and his so called ‘friend’. The time difference is, like, six hours and they stayed up pretty late together last night. Not to mention Magnus has never been a morning person. Not that Ragnor cares, of course.

Nevertheless, he sits up then stands from the bed with a sigh, stretching out his arms in an attempt to feel more awake. God, he could use a coffee right now.

Showering and getting dressed is the first step, though. He curses Ragnor again as he rifles through his gigantic suitcase in a hurry. Dressing for photo shoots would be so much easier if there was a wardrobe crew. But no, Ragnor prefers smaller group projects involving a few people he knows and so Magnus has to go through the process of hunting down an outfit to look spectacular in all by himself.

Suddenly, there's a knock on his door.

“Come in,” Magnus says, thinking it’s probably Catarina or Raphael. Instead, a short girl with fiery red hair enters the room with a tray of food that makes Magnus’ mouth instantly water.

“My saviour! What is her name?” He exclaims, then gasps when he catches sight of a mug of coffee. The girl laughs.

“Her name is Clary. And she is thrilled to meet you!” She sets the tray down on a small white coffee table at the foot of the bed and turns back towards him. Magnus rushes forward and tucks in.

“Ditto.”

The girl, Clary, looks at him with intrigue gleaming in her eyes, like she hasn't met many people outside of this island that aren't under fifty years old.

When a beat of silence passes, Magnus raises a brow at the girl. “Not that I don't enjoy the company, but..?”

“Oh!” She laughs, nodding her head. “Sorry. Yes, I just wanted to thank you and your model friends for coming here. My mom has been trying to organise advertisement for this place for ages and you guys are a godsend. We're hoping to put this place on the map for more people and you guys will definitely help.”

“Oh, well it's no problem, biscuit, I enjoy doing it and this place is beautiful,” he says with a sip of his coffee. “Plus, Jocelyn is a friend of Ragnor’s from back in New York. Any friend of that grumpy bastard’s is a friend of mine.”

“Fair enough,” she laughs again. She backs away slowly, bringing a hand up to wave. “Well, I’ll leave you to your modelling and such. Let me or my parents know if you need anything!”

“Wait,” Magnus says, a thought coming to mind. The girl stops in her tracks. “Sorry but, could you help me pick an outfit? This shoot is soon and there’s no wardrobe crew and I’m indecisive.”

Clary’s face lights up with a smile. “Sure!” She walks forward, stopping in front of Magnus’ splayed-open suitcase. There’s something about the girl that Magnus finds interesting, maybe the fact that she’s wearing paint-stained shorts and seems to radiate kindness. He dismisses the thought as he sits down in front of his suitcase and holds up two shirts next to the pants he had decided on before she came in.

“This is so pressuring,” Clary laughs. “Izzy would probably be much better at this.”

“Izzy?” he asks. Clary nods.

“Yeah, she’s a guest here. I talked to her and her brother yesterday and she told me she is in college to become a fashion designer. Although, if I told her of your dilemma and brought her here, Alec probably wouldn’t be too happy with me-”

“Alec? Like, hot mechanic guy Alec?” Magnus asks, setting the shirts aside. Clary raises an eyebrow and smiles knowingly.

“The very same. I’m guessing you had a chance to meet him last night.”

“I did,” Magnus smiles. “He saved us and then made an appearance outside my window last night. Are you two friends?”

Clary nods, sitting so this her chin is resting on her knees as she looks at Magnus. “I’d say so, he isn’t exactly very friendly with everyone. Which is part of the reason we didn’t have him as a secretary or guest-greeter,” she chuckles.

Magnus hums. “And what else does he do around here?”

“You sure are interested in Alexander Lightwood,” she smirks.

“Oh, just interested in what goes on around this lovely island, dear.”

They lock eyes for a silent few seconds, Clary's smile daring him to admit something Magnus isn’t quite sure of but knows isn’t going to happen. Finally, she points to one of the shirts Magnus had set down.

“That one.” She stands up and, just as she is about to leave, she turns to Magnus with a playful look. “He’s very single, by the way.”

And then she’s gone, leaving a baffled, speechless Magnus alone to get ready for the rest of the day, a hint of a pleased smile playing on his face. He'd deny it if anyone saw, though.

* * *

“What are you grinning about, Fray?”

Clary looks around and spots Alec, seated down the narrow arched pathway on the cobblestone ground beside her. He’s looking up from where he had been re-applying cement to a loose cobblestone, a flat shovel in hand, one earbud in. She walks over to him and shrugs.

“Oh, nothing, it’s just a beautiful day. Especially for some modelling, don’t you think?”

Alec quirks an eyebrow and frowns, looking back down at his handiwork. “I guess.” He then stands, dusting his hands on his dark gym shorts, and looks back over at his short friend.

“Want to go get breakfast? I’m starving.”

“Sure.”

And so they make their way down the hotel streets, exchanging a few words but mostly just walking. Alec likes that he doesn’t feel pressured to talk around her. He finds that to be the case with most of the people on this island: a quiet, comfortable presence in each of them. Visitors excluded. Which is another thing he prefers over New York.

“So,” Clary starts, just as they are walking into the Dot’s Breakfast Buffet restaurant. Unsurprisingly, the place is buzzing with elderly people this early in the morning, Dot herself being the only exception. She waves at them as they enter. “I was talking to the model, Magnus, earlier.”

That catches Alec’s attention. He gives her a disinterested look as they stand in line to get their usual breakfast foods. “Oh? And?”

“You didn’t tell me that you talked to him before!” she says with a weirdly accusing tone, pointing at him with a blueberry muffin in hand.

“When would I have? It happened last night!” he says with a short laugh. “And so? He’s a guest, we just talked.”

She scoffs. “He’s a model. He’s hot. You guys talked. That’s the sort of thing you tell a friend, Alec.”

“Sorry,” he says, because they are friends and he feels a little bad. Then he pauses and gives her a confused look. “Wait, are you assuming my sexuality?”

“Are you assuming I’m an idiot?” she responds, raising a challenging brow. He shakes his head with a laugh. She’s a perceptive one.

“Fine,” he says as they make their way to a shaded spot under some trees. “He’s hot. But he’s a guest and, like every guest, he’ll be leaving at some point. Do you see my concern?”

Clary frowns. “That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy his company for a while.”

Alec considers it but ends up shaking his head. “I don't know. That's not really something I'd like to do.”

She looks like she’s about to say more but stops herself, nodding. “Okay. I just thought that he sounded interested.”

Alec’s eyes widen mid-coffee sip. “You-” he stops himself, frowning. “No, I refuse to get baited. Nothing is going to happen between us. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to wake my probably jet-lagged siblings.”

Clary laughs as he stands. “Wait, Alec, come on-”

“Nope, see you later, Fray.”

He hears her call after him again but just shakes his head. He didn’t come to this island for that kind of experience, he came to clear his head, for new inspiration. Hooking up with someone for a week or two is the last thing that would help with that.

Instead of going straight to his sibling’s rooms, he walks for a bit around the streets of the hotel, every so often stopping to check up on something he had fixed recently, but mostly retraining his mind on the beauty of the island, not the beauty of golden-green eyes and olive skin.

When he does turn up at their shared building and goes up the stairs, he finds the two arguing on the landing between their two rooms.

“Jace, it’s not my problem if you’re not a heavy enough sleeper to sleep through my hairdryer!”

“How the fuck are you even awake?! Are you human?”

Izzy glares at him. “No, Jace, I’m a goddamn vampire and there’s no such thing as people who don’t get jet-lagged!”

Jace pauses, mouth open. “Wait, _is_ that a thing?”

“Are you guys finished?” Alec interjects. The two look over to where he is standing at the top of the stairs and nod at him.

“Morning,” Jace says, then turns back to their sister. “Would you mind telling her to stop being so loud? Some of us are trying to sleep.”

“That’s actually why I came here, to wake you guys and see if you want to go to the beach a few miles down while I work on fixing a few things there.”

Jace groans, giving Alec a betrayed look. “Fine, I’m awake anyway, I guess, thanks to her.”

Izzy rolls her eyes. “Sure. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Alec says as he turns to walk back down the stairs. “See you then.”

* * *

“How is he wearing a sweater in this heat? And how can I make him take it off?” Magnus sighs as he lays in the sand, facing Alec, who is in the process of repairing one of the hotel’s jet skis. They had finished their photo shoot in the courtyard and decided to go down to the beach, and Magnus is glad they did. The water is that clear crystal blue you see in pictures, the sand is pure white, and the chiselled god in front of him isn’t too bad either. Ragnor chuckles from his seat in the sand beside him.

“Maybe you can go over there and ask him nicely,” he jokes. Magnus scoffs, thinks for a second, then moves to stand. Ragnor raises an eyebrow. “I was joking, you know.”

Magnus grins back at him. “I know.”

“It’s not going to work!” he calls after him, but Magnus just sticks his middle finger back at him, feeling rather confident in his sweet-talking skills. Because what's the worst that could happen?

He makes his way over the sand and onto the wooden docks where Alec sits, screwdriver in hand, dressed in gym shorts and a sweater with the sleeves rolled up. Overall, in Magnus’ opinion, it's not a great look. He looks up when Magnus approaches and smiles.

“Oh! Hey, Magnus!” he greets. Magnus stops and sits down across from him, cross-legged, and smiles back.

“Hello, Alexander. May I ask you a question?”

Alec quirks an eyebrow as he looks back down at the jet ski, leaning forward to fiddle with something inside the contraption. “Sure.”

“Do you enjoy being extremely hot?”

Alec drops his screwdriver in a clamour and freezes, locking his beautiful, widened eyes with Magnus’. Magnus grins and adds “Y’know, temperature-wise?”

The bright red that spreads over Alec’s face is adorable and Magnus can’t contain his growing smile as Alec searches for words, looking anywhere but at Magnus.

“I-I don’t know, I guess, why?”

“Because it would be in the greater interest of everyone if you took the sweater off. Think of all the old ladies who will be made to feel young again! I wouldn’t mind too much either.”

Alec splutters out a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief as he picks the tool back up. “What’s it with you trying to get me to strip? Is it a model thing?”

“I think it’s a sane person thing,” Magnus sighs.

Alec rolls his eyes but the small smile gives him away. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Is that a no?” Magnus pouts.

Alec pauses, that small smile stuck on the edge of his lips even as he looks away from his ridiculous suitor. When he looks back up after a moment of hopeful silence, he sighs. “Fine. Only because it’s warm, though.” And with that, he shrugs off his sweater. Magnus wants to be happy about it, but he’s wearing a black tank top underneath. The sight of his arms is magnificent, but that doesn’t stop a small sound of protest from coming out of Magnus’ mouth.

“Another layer? Why, Alexander? I thought I could trust you,” he says, standing up with a dramatic shake of his head. Once again, he is graced with another eye roll.

“There’s always a catch,” Alec laughs back. He looks back down at his work and so Magnus takes that as a sign that their conversation is over. Well, mission accomplished. Kind of.

He walks back to where he and Ragnor had been sitting to see Raphael, Maia and Catarina sitting in his place, Cat and Maia smirking and Raphael frowning more so than usual.

“What’d I miss?” he asks, sitting in the sand in front of them.

“We made a bet about if you’d get that guy’s sweater off. Maia and I won,” Cat grins as Maia offers her a high five. “Raphael isn’t too happy.”

“What the hell did you do? Is there something wrong with that boy?” Ragnor questions as he hands five dollars to Cat, and then another to Maia. Magnus grins as he looks back at Alec, who is completely focused on his job, muscled arms working hard.

“A magician never reveals his secrets.”

* * *

“Alec stripped for a model today,” Izzy tells Clary as they sit outside the Hunter’s Moon that night for dinner. After that little incident, she had run up to him, firing questions about who that was and how he got his sweater off and if she should be concerned, until he had let out that he was 'just a model'. He regrets that deeply.

“I took my sweater off because it was hot!” he defends. Izzy doesn’t look convinced, not when he first told her and not now, and she gives Clary a look.

“It was because the guy was a model and he was hot.”

Clary laughs and looks at Alec with raised eyebrows. “Was this model, by chance, Magnus?” she asks. Alec sends her a death glare she shrugs at. Izzy gasps.

“You know one? And you didn’t tell me?”

While she sits there, staring at him expectantly, Alec looks over at his brother desperately. Jace shrugs. “You stripped for a model, man.”

Alec groans, sitting back in his chair and covering his face with his hands. “I regret inviting you guys here this summer.”

“We would have come anyway,” Izzy smirks. He feels her hand pat his shoulder and withdraw in a second, back to business. “Anyway, tell me more about this ‘Magnus’ guy. He looked pretty decent looking from a distance.”

Alec sighs and shakes his head. “I’m not telling you guys anything. Especially you, traitor,” he says with a point at his ‘friend’ Clary. She doesn’t seem focused on their conversation, though, looking between where Alec and Izzy sit with their backs to the restaurant.

“Well that’s okay,” Clary smiles, pointing towards the entrance to the restaurant, “because there he is now!”

Alec looks over his shoulder to see that Magnus is indeed inside the Hunter’s Moon, standing amongst his friends as he talks to Gretel, charismatic smile spread wide.

He turns back quickly. “He’s with his friends, Clary, don't-”

“Hey! All of you models!” she yells, catching all four of their attention. “Come sit over here!”

This time, Alec leans forward and hides his face in his hands, cursing everyone on this island for putting him into these kinds of situations instead of letting him have some peace. He looks back up when he hears a set of footsteps draw closer.

“Hey, Clary. Alexander,” Magnus says, pausing to smile at the latter. He then looks at the two unfamiliar faces seated at the table. “And who may you two be?”

“I’m Izzy, and this is Jace. We’re _Alexander’s_ siblings.” She looks at Alec with a grin before looking back at the model. “Nice to meet you. I love your shirt. McQueen?”

Magnus grins at her. “It is indeed. I like you. I’m Magnus.” He holds a hand out to her which she takes with a mischievous look Alec is sure only he catches. Oh no.

“And these are my friends,” Magnus continues, gesturing to where his friends stand beside him. “Ragnor,” he gestures to a friendly older-looking man, “Catarina,” he points to the girl Alec had already met, “Raphael,” to a man with a bored frown, “and Maia,” he finishes with a flourish at a woman with wild, curly black hair, dark skin, and a kind smile. They all greet those seated at the table then grab a table from nearby and push it next to theirs, sitting down so that Magnus is right next to Alec. _Perfect,_ he thinks bitterly.

“So,” Izzy starts after the waiter comes and takes all of their orders. “How’s the modelling going?”

Alec nearly laughs at how eager she sounds. Being someone who is studying fashion designing must make all of this much more interesting.

Ragnor is the one to answer first. “Well, it would be much easier if some people didn’t act like such divas and adapted to the planned schedule and-”

“To be fair,” Cat says from where she sits in front of Ragnor. “Why must there be a sunrise shoot? Wouldn’t sunset be the same?”

Ragnor looks at her like he is personally offended, mouth slightly open in shock. “No, it is not the same, for God’s sake, it-”

“Clary told me you’re studying fashion in college,” Magnus interrupts, effectively dismissing the argument. Ragnor still doesn’t look too happy, but Raphael murmurs something to him from beside him and he grins widely with a nod.

Izzy nods at Magnus, “Yeah, I’m loving it so far. I think we’re going to start using actual models for our designs next semester…”

They talk back and forth for a while between their two groups. At some point, Magnus starts animatedly telling stories about some adventures their little modelling group had been on, one involving being banned from Peru. Alec watches Magnus, fascinated in the way he wears his emotions on his sleeve, open for everyone to see and judge how they wish. As Alec sits and watches him, he can't help but compare him to a flame, drawing people in with his open warmth, his obvious intellect and charisma radiating in a most pleasant way. Alec is enamoured and dying to come closer despite the inevitable burn he fears he’ll face.

“So, Alexander,” Magnus starts, turning to him once the others start to talk in their own little groups, Clary and Jace giggling about something; Izzy, Maia, and Catarina chatting; and Ragnor adding some sort of detail to Magnus’ previous story to an amused Raphael. Magnus faces him, that open smile playing on his lovely features.

“Yes, Magnus?” Alec murmurs, staring into his entrancing golden-green eyes.

Magnus’ smile grows. “What are you doing on this island?” he asks. “Not that you have to tell me, I just don’t think you’re from around here.”

He looks genuinely interested as Alec shakes his head. “No, I'm not. I'm here as a sort of summer job to get away from a...stressful life.”

Magnus raises an eyebrow, making Alec question his answer. The glittery man lets out a small laugh; “To get away from a stressful life, you got a job on a heavenly island hotel? Are you not a fan of real vacations?”

Alec shrugs, but he does allow a small quirk of his lips. “I prefer to busy myself. I don’t think I could just lay around in the sun all day, honestly.”

Although Magnus still looks rather amused about the idea of working to relax, he nods in understanding. “So, what is it that you do that is so stressful?”

Alec shifts a little in his seat. He never likes talking about his job. Often times, when someone asks him about it, they scoff and say something along the lines of ‘that isn’t a real job’. He also has never been a very open person, so sue him if he gets a little flustered in front of a gorgeous male model who is awaiting an answer.

“Uh-I-I’m a writer. Author. Person.” God, he wants to bash his own brains in. He goes for an awkward smile instead.

He doesn’t expect Magnus’ eyes to widen and for him to lean closer in interest. “Wow. I should have guessed, you're just so good with words,” Magnus smirks teasingly, making Alec laugh. His smile then turns more genuine. “Do you enjoy it? Writing?”

Alec feels a warmth in his chest that makes him smile. Like Magnus' flame of a personality keeps getting bigger, warmer, more impressive. “I-I do, it really clears my head. But it's also why I left, it all kind of became more stressful than enjoyable.”

“Ah,” Magnus says with an understanding nod. “So did you come here for inspiration then? This place is beautiful enough to strike emotion within anyone.”

“Yeah. I did.”

“Is it working?” Magnus asks.

Alec looks away and finds himself smiling softly. “I think so.”

* * *

They walk silently down one of the many small hotel streets together. To Magnus, as he looks around, he notices these streets sort of resemble alleyways back home in New York in their narrowness, but are completely different in every other way. Especially the pristine white paint and actual surrounding nature.

The amount of flower pots that line either side of them should be ridiculous but Magnus thinks it’s charming, especially in the way the warm summer night breeze mixes the scents together. The stars above are visible, too, no light pollution daring to block their view of the world below, and Magnus can see all at once why someone would want to come here to get away from life.

On the one hand, he is happy that he and his friends will get to bring publicity to this place, but, at the same time, it’s sort of a sad thought that this same serenity may not be around forever.

He looks over at Alec, who offered to walk him back from the Hunter’s Moon once he noticed the jet-lag settling back in on Magnus, and is now looking around peacefully, like he still isn’t used to this place’s beauties. The way the moonlight hits his pale face makes Magnus want to reach out and touch him, especially when he turns his head and catches Magnus’ eyes on him, a small smile spreading on his annoyingly kissable lips.

“How do you like the island so far?” Alec asks. They had talked for a majority of the night at the restaurant, Magnus about his friends and a few of the places he had been and Alec more about anything but himself. That was okay for Magnus, though, he enjoyed listening to him talk about his three siblings and how their lives were going. He doesn't dwell on why that is, just on the way Alec’s lovely face lights up in undeniable love and interest for his family, an expressive openness Magnus hadn't seen during previous conversations with him.

“I'm loving it so far,” Magnus answers, honestly. “It's lovely. And the company around here isn't too bad either.”

He watches as Alec's lips twitch just slightly.

“I'm glad.” He pauses before continuing. “And how long do you plan on staying?” Alec asks coolly.There's a hint of something in his eyes, some sort of vested interest, but also something that makes it seem like he doesn't want to know the answer. Magnus waves it off as him seeing things, refusing to dwell.

“Ragnor says two weeks, as a sort of work slash vacation. I think he likes this place too.”

Alec nods absently, almost like he's focusing on calculating something to see if it will work in his head. He then stops in his tracks, and that's when Magnus notices that they are in the courtyard outside of his building. He fights back the feeling of disappointment.

“Well, I'll see you around, Magnus.”

He doesn't move though. They both stand facing each other, an arm's length away, waiting for the other to do something, maybe something potentially stupid, because the attraction is there, it's just early. But Alec looks like he's holding something back. That hesitation is what makes Magnus speak first. Even though he doesn't want to say what he says.

“Goodnight, Alec.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'd love to know your thoughts: here, [twitter](https://twitter.com/Samwastherealhe), [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hobbithole123), I'm on them all and would love the feedback on any (there maaay be potential hints at the next chapter on my twitter too, if that's something you're into) :)  
> BYEE HOBBITS


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